THOUSANDS of British holidaymakers were last night bracing themselves for the devastating onslaught of Hurricane Dean.

The storm was on course to hit Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula overnight, bringing with it gusts of up to 150mph.

Earlier yesterday, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands were spared the full force of the tempest as it passed to the south of the islands.

But last night North-East family and friends of people caught in the hurricane were still anxiously waiting for news of their loved ones.

Roy Black, a chef who lives in Darlington, moved to the North-East from Jamaica seven years ago, but his wife, daughter and son still live in Hanover - a small parish on the north west tip of the island.

Mr Black has been frantically trying to contact them since seeing news reports about the devastation caused by the winds at the weekend.

The Jamaican government declared a state of emergency after the category four hurricane tore through the country on Sunday, uprooting trees, tearing down power lines and destroying homes.

Mr Black, who works at Ochi's Caribbean restaurant at Bondgate, Darlington, said last night: "I have been really worried because I have been trying to get in touch with my family for days. I rang them on Saturday night, then again on Sunday morning, but I still couldn't get through.

"Finally on Monday morning I managed to speak briefly to my daughter, but I still haven't been able to get in touch with my wife.

"I need to speak to her to find out exactly what is happening. It looks like they should be okay, but I don't know how badly damaged our house is."

Ian McNeilly, from Darlington and a former teacher at Richmond School, North Yorkshire, emigrated to teach in the Cayman Islands in 2000. He has since returned, but fears for friends and ex-students who may have been caught in Hurricane Dean's path as it continues to sweep through the Americas.

"I have several friends in the Caymans who will be in danger," said Mr McNeilly, who was head of English at the Cayman Prep and High School, George Town.

"While I was there, an eye of a hurricane passed 150 miles away. I literally saw waves uprooting big trees and carrying them away.

"The big memory, though, was the morning after - four-wheel drive vehicles being picked up and carried through bars, things like that.

"A lot of people, in a strange way, want to see what happens when a hurricane hits - but I'm telling you, you don't. It's a wonder of nature, but incredibly frightening and dangerous."

One Cayman Islands resident not in the country is Bill Gates, the ex-Middlesbrough footballer from Ferryhill, who became a multi-millionaire through his company, Monument Sports.

Brother Eric, the ex-Ipswich, Sunderland, and England player, said: "The last I heard was two weeks ago, when he was staying with my parents. They're in Staindrop and I don't think they're expecting any hurricanes there."

Reports suggest that at least eight people have died so far as the hurricane continues to make its way across the Caribbean.

On Sunday night, Hurricane Dean brought torrential rainfall and damaging winds to southern Jamaica. Trees were uprooted while buildings had their roofs torn off by the storm as it moved along the shoreline.

But with the eye of the hurricane some way off the coast, the level of havoc some had previously feared failed to materialise.

Cayman Islands governor Stuart Jack said all but 1,500 tourists had been moved out by yesterday afternoon and 19 storm shelters had been set up for anyone without a safe place to go.

The Federation of Tour Operators (FTO) said 3,000 British tourists had been evacuated from Cancun ahead of the storm reaching the Mexican resort.

Andy Cooper, director general at the FTO, was optimistic that holidaymakers would escape the worst excesses of the hurricane.